The Games in London are On!

I made a guest appearance at the City of Lakes Loppet Adventure Camp to talk to the campers about my experience at the 2010 Games and to share the excitement of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

I am usually quite happy to not have a television, but it has been tough to not watch the Opening Ceremonies and first few days of competition live.  My days are still super busy as I wrap up my final week of Physiology.  My favorite study break is to stream the video highlights for the days competition and read articles about the different athletes.  I love learning everyone's story and their struggles and triumphs towards becoming the best.

I look forward to joining my CXC teammates in Colorado for an altitude training camp at the end of the week.  I hope the place we are staying has a television. Best of luck to my In The Arena teammates as they compete in the next few weeks: 

Kristin Hedstrom, women’s lightweight double sculls: Sunday, July 29th (heats) at 5:50am ET; Tuesday, July 31st (repechages) at 5:10am ET; Thursday, August 2nd (semifinals) at 5:30am ET; Saturday, August 4th (finals) at 5:00am ET

Sarah Groff, women’s triathlon: Saturday, August 4th at 4:00am ET 
Lea Davison, women’s mountain bike: Saturday, August 11th at 7:30am ET

Gregg Center of Excellence

On the outside our house is a simple 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 674 square foot bungalow.  The house feels way bigger on the inside with a full basement which we quickly transformed into the Gregg Center of Excellence.  Similar to the multi-million dollar USSA Center of Excelence in Park City, Utah but basically the Craigslist version.  Don't let the dirty walls scare you, most everything you need is in it for good solid training.

Angela on the treadmill.  Perfect for those super hot days or late nights.

Mellia and the squat rack

This gym is for working out, not hanging out!

The newest addition a Conept 2 Ski Erg for specific measurable double pole training.

Working out can be fun!

The neighborhood crew earner their new (lightly used) running shoes after their workout.  Huge thanks to Santi and Carolyn, Fox Rivers Sports, Salomon and Gear West for the shoes.

Studying

After a break from formal education for the past 8 years (where does the time go?), I decided to jump back in to school and studying.   I just finished an intense 5 week anatomy class. After being away from school for so long I had a steep learning curve when it came time to study and review for the next day's exam or lab practical. I have never found myself sitting still for so long in my entire life! The class was fantastic and I loved learning every bit of information in the condensed format.

Preparing for the Final Exam.  I had a test each day of the week leading up to the final too.

Uphill Sprints

Focusing on class has allowed my hamstring/glute injury a chance to heal and I have been feeling really good running.  Last weekend I filled in for a friend in the Tri-Loppet 5km and felt great.  I ran even faster than last year.

Tomorrow, I start my next course, Physiology.  I again look forward to learning a lot. There have been many topics that I wish I could have reviewed way back when I was a young athlete. I am in the process of fulfilling my prerequisites for PA school.  My goal is to start full-time school in May of 2014, so right after the Olympics.

From Dirt to Food

This spring the kids and I started a Garden Club.  We wrote to the Harrison Neighborhood Association to apply for a plot at the community garden a short walk from Harrison Park.  We collected a small amount of money for seeds and went to go check out the piece of dirt which was now ours. 

We came back to the Park and developed a plan for what we wanted to grow and where we would put it.  Spring came pretty early to Minneapolis this year but we didn't want to plan too early.  We started by drawing and coloring signs to label our rows.  Unfortunately, our plastic sleeves didn't work as well as we had hoped and our beautiful signs need to be redone.  You can still make out the outline of the vegetable growing in a particular row.

A month ago this garden was only dirt, and last summer only weeds.

Can anyone guess what this is?  Who wants a salad?

Angela proud of her first harvest.

Radishes, better than Extra Spicy Cheetos

Sometimes good comes from bad things

Leading in to Memorial Day I planned to head up to Hayward, Wisconsin Thursday night to celebrate my friend Dennis' birthday and guest coach a workout with the Ski and Tea training group.  My plans changed when Minneapolis received over 5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period and our basement which has been dry all spring started leaking water.  I spent the day soaking up the water, making sure everything was off of the floor and trying to correct the issue with the gutters.  I had to push back my other errands and by the time I had everything set to go it was early evening.

With the water issue under control the doorbell rang and I opened it up to see some of the kids from the park Jerry, Quinn and Javari smiling back at me.  They said they had a favor to ask of me.  They were all performing in the middle school concert that evening and were wondering if I would come listen and help bring their mom to the concert.

Javarie with his percussion crew

 

Anne Watin Middle School Band

Jerry on the drums

 

Speaking with the kids mom as we waited for the show to start I learned that this was the first time she had been to their school since she had enrolled them.  She works full time at a restaurant and without a car making it to school is a challenge for her.  She cried during the concert.  We all drove home together with big smiles.

If the water hadn't come in to the basement, I wouldn't have been there to answer the door when the kids stopped by and their Mom may have never heard them perform.  Turns out I enjoyed a great concert, confirmed that the basement stayed dry for another night and had a smooth early morning trip to meet up with the Ski and Team women's training group.  Sometimes good things come from what might seem like a bad thing.

A Year in North Minneapolis! Many Lives Changed!!!

It's been one year since Brian and I were married and moved into the Willard Hay neighborhood in North Minneapolis.  We loved our home and the location, with a small footprint a great yard and the ability to ski out our backdoor in the middle of a metropolitan area, we were convinced that it was going to be a great year.

Brian and I knew that both our projects in North Minneapolis would benefit from our close proximity to their locations and the potential to see the kids on a regular basis outside of the parks. What we didn't anticipate was the impact we would have on the kids who lived on our own block!

After only a few days it was evident that Brian and I were a new kind of neighbors. We left at strange hours on strange equipment. We spent long hours outside doing jumps and yard work and we always had healthy snacks at hand!

We were like magnets for a family (a huge family) of kids down the block. They were bored and we seemed REALLY interesting. So Brian and I did what has become a natural reaction for us...We encouraged them to join us and to seek out new opportunities and adventures in their surroundings!

Looking back at all the photos and thinking about all of the memories leaves me with a sudden realization. In-The-Arena enabled me to continue racing beyond college, fulfill my dreams of competing in the Olympic Games but more then that, it helped me achieved the greatest accomplishment of my life, changing the trajectory of a child's life and seeing the gratitude in their smiles. Thank you Amory and all of the supporters of In-The-Arena from myself and the kids of Thomas Ave. N.

Volunteering with Grils on the Run and Athleta!!!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer for a running race here in the Twin Cities! The event was called Get in Gear and I have run it a handful of times in previous years. The race had volunteers for various non-profit organizations work at a particular water stop. I was there representing Girls on the Run and Athleta! If our water stop (#2) was the most "fun" Girls on the Run would receive and extra $500 donation!

After fueling up on some coffee and sports drink we started making the most of the dreary and cold Saturday morning! The event was a half-marathon so we had plenty of time to set up tables and thousands of water and sports drink cups! I was shocked at how much liquids we went through despite the cooler weather! People are being smart and hydrating! I like it :)

I had a blast working with both Girls on the Run and Athleta at the event. Both groups are filled with energetic and hard-working individuals. I love what they do! I think they enjoyed having me around to keep the energy high! (I was really just trying not to freeze!). I had a few runners come through who recognized me and a whole lot of people who thanked all of us for volunteering!

Like I said before I have run this race in the past but that seems easy compared to the work that goes into these water stops! I was amazed at how gracious people were and how good it made me feel that they appreciated our help! I can't wait to thank all the volunteers at the next event I race in!!! Especially if it is 40F and raining :)